Plugins are composed of php scripts that add additional functionality to your blog. They offer new additions to your blog that either enhance features that were already available or add otherwise unavailable new features to your site.

Plugins extend the functionality of WordPress. The majority of WordPress users don't require Plugins, or only require a few, such as Plugins dealing with comment spam or customized post listings. Other users enjoy the varied options Plugins provide such as frequently updated weather reports, post word counts, rating systems, and more. Since the choice in Plugins is vast, and chosen based upon the needs of the user, they are not incorporated into the core of WordPress.

WordPress Plugins are designed by volunteers and are free to the public. Plugins listed in the sources below have usually been thoroughly tested and considered "safe". But remember, Plugins are the responsibility of the author and the user, and they are typically works-in-progress as WordPress grows and expands.

If you want to develop your own plugins, there is a comprehensive list of resources at Plugin Resources.

Finding Plugins

There is a list of WordPress plugins, and links to other repositories, in Plugins.

Plugin Compatibility

WordPress Plugin Compatibility indexes plugins compatible with various WordPress versions.

Installing Plugins

WordPress Plugins Panel

WordPress offers simple and easy ways of adding Plugins to your blog. From the Administration Panels, click on the Plugin tab. Once you have uploaded a plugin to your WordPress plugin directory, activate it from the Plugins Management page, and sit back and watch your plugin work.

Not all Plugins are so easily installed, but WordPress plugin authors and developers make the process as easy as possible. We've included more detailed information on how to install Plugins below, as well as some things you need to know before you install.

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